On 24-27 October 2012, the Standing Group on International Relations SGIR/EISA will be holding its first Exploratory Workshops meeting in the town of Rhodes. The event is organized in collaboration with the Department of Mediterranean Studies of the University of the Aegean. The arrival and departure days will respectively be the 24th and 27th of October, with the meeting days for all workshops to be held on 25-26 October. The organizers will cover accommodation and daily allowances, yet participants must cover travel expenses.

SGIR/EISA Exploratory Workshops One of the new future events for EISA will be its annual Exploratory Workshops. The format will be some cross-national groups of researchers to meet over two to three days in order to discuss the early stages of research projects with a view to launch long-term research projects and subsequently publications. EISA offers this opportunity for seven workshops with a maximum of six participants per workshop.

What kind of research groups are the Exploratory Workshops for?

Overall, the Exploratory Workshops aim to facilitate two kinds of research groups. The first refers to newly established groups that would be able to meet at an early stage of a research project. The purpose of meeting would be to draft a detailed proposal that could then be submitted to a funding organisation. The second refers to already established research groups which are encouraged to meet to work out a proposal for a special issue of a journal or a book proposal. They would be encouraged to publish their results in peer-reviewed journals or relevant book series, including SGIR/EISAs PSIR book series.

Note that groups should, in their application, indicate whether they wish to meet to discuss the establishment of a new research group OR whether they are advanced in their work and wish to discuss a publishing proposal. The prime criteria of decision-making in awarding a exploratory workshop are academic quality and potentials for advancing International Studies.

What is the format of the Exploratory Workshops? The Exploratory Workshops will take place over about two to three days: arrival in the afternoon/early evening of day one, departure in the afternoon of day three or four. Funding of the Exploratory Workshops covers accommodation and a daily allowance for up to six participants per group. Travel costs are to be covered by the participants.

Who may apply?

International Studies scholars throughout Europe. Some sections or panels of SGIR Pan-European Conferences on International Relations or ECPR General Conferences as well as SGIR/EISA or ECPR Joint Session of Workshops may be regarded as extraordinarily successful by participants. The respective section and panel chairs are encouraged to continue their work via the Exploratory Workshops. However, they must follow the same procedures as any other applicant. A proposal which comes from a previous panel/section has no a priori advantage over other proposals.

What criteria are used in selecting research groups?

Academic quality is the most important factor. Other criteria include having a good geographical spread of participants, excellent potential for turning the idea into a reality (based on topic, reputation of participants etc.). An excellent scientific proposal will not fail even if most of the secondary criteria are not met; however, proposals which meet all the secondary criteria flawlessly but do not score better than ‘good’ with regard scientific quality will not be considered

What should the proposal include?

The proposal should specify the research question and locate the research question within the relevant scientific debate and within the relevant IR theories, though also disciplinary bridge-building enterprises are encouraged. There needs to be sufficient information on research design, theory-informed orientations, methodology, data, research steps, ‘milestones’, a rough publication plan and a list of members of the research group. The proposal should include the guiding hypothesis, the main ‘message’ or the major and innovative contribution that the research group wants to make. Proposals should provide sufficient information on these topics. They should be no longer than 3000 words.

Application Deadline for the 2012 Exploratory Workshops is 8 august 2012

Applicants will be informed of the success or otherwise of their application by 15 August 2012.

Email application to Knud Erik Jørgensen, kej@ps.au.dk